Baxter: Westwood prepares for promotion

WESTWOOD HAS had a good spring thus far as its prepares for a move to Class 4A.

“I wish we could stay in 3A another couple of years,” coach Rodney Summers joked. “But we’ve played a good schedule and I think our guys will have a good idea of what to expect this season in the bigger classification.”

The Red Hawks are trying to focus on the spots they need filled this spring.

The biggest hole on offense is at running back, where the Red Hawks graduated Christian Brown, who was their main offensive threat.

Leading the way is sophomore Andrew Plante, who got time last year as a tight end and in blocking situations. Rudy Mitchell joined the team from track and will add speed to the position.

The quarterback spot is a two-man battle between senior Nick Leveretter, who has the reigns right now, and sophomore Jalen Smith.

The line will be young and start underclassmen. Torrey Boone and Chris Mitchell return at the guard spots. The Redhawks are trying to break in a new center and will play young at the tackles.

Adonus Lee returns at wide receiver as the deep threat. Lee has offers from UNC Charlotte, Appalachian State and Georgia State.

Defensively up front, the Redhawks return Bradley Carter and Kelvin Adkins at the ends. They are still searching for a noseguard in their three-man front.

In the secondary, cornerbacks Anthony Douglas and Whitney McLeod are back. Westwood will be inexperienced at safety with Tyrell Gallman moving from wide receiver to free safety, and Josh Cooper, who played eight quarters last season, is in line at strong safety.

“We need to stay healthy,” Summers said, “and get the younger guys coached up to prepare for our region play. We’ve put together a good non-region schedule with River Bluff, Lexington, Clover, RNE, and West Florence, and I think that will prepare us well for a tough region run.”